Do you know how long I've been waiting to say, "The Bad Boy is Back?" It has almost been a year now, and finally we have good news about Badr Hari. There have been persisting rumors over the past few months that Badr Hari might have fractured from his training group at Mike's Gym, but the photos we posted the other day, along with this video we are posting (oh yeah) is enough proof that all is well in Mike's Gym and that Badr Hari is back in training.

The rumor, which was confirmed by Simon Rutz himself, is that Badr Hari will make his official return to action on May 14th in Lyon, France. The opponent is yet to be officially locked in as the sponsor was yet to be officially locked in. Well, that is, until today, as legendary Muay Thai fighter Kader Marouf will be presenting It's Showtime Lyon, featuring Badr Hari. This is huge, great news for It's Showtime and the kickboxing world.

Well, here is video footage of Badr Hari from his training session last week, as well as an interview, in Dutch. So, if you speak Dutch, please feel free to provide us with a gist of what is going on in the comments!

UPDATE: From Yari on the Team Takeover forums:

- He didnt want to give a scoop on his next opponent, and still claims he fights in May. I guess he wont replace Hesdy Gerges.- He said he wants to stop surrounding himself with negative news, and be known as a athlete again.- Didnt want to promise/guarantee he will never go beyond the ref's call again (ala Remy/Gerges).

UPDATE 2: Now with full translation courtesy of an anonymous friend through Bloodstain Lane.

<P> 1:55: He's an unbelievable strong k-1 fighter, in 2007 he became world champion in this sport of granite. On a regular basis 10s of thousands of people are in awe at the big body in the ring. Badr Hari is a fighting machine, he kept fighting when thereferee stopped a fight, he gave himseld a year suspension and went to Morocco and now he is here Badr Hari(Applause)<p> 2:21: Yes, badr we just watched u in training in footage of last week, i was wondering in your sport when u are actually in the ringand the fight is about to start with 30 thousand spectators, sometimes 60 thousand that are all screaming they want to see a hard fight,what happens with u (inside u) at that moment?

<B> 2:44: The fight starts way earlier than when i enter the ring, it stars in the gym already, where I am very focused and work in detail for the fight,so the tension is already high, you build that up in the 6 or 7 weeks u need to prepare for the fight, little by little you become more

fired up and tensed up and before a big tournament u become a little unkind to people around u.

<M> 3:16: reckognizable<B> 3:16: reckognizable right?, so you get a little more fired up and at the moment you are standing there to enter the arena is actually a relief,it's more of a relief than a build up of tension because the time has finally arrived that u are allowed to enter the ring.

<P> 3:34: So what are u allowed to do then, because you see your opponent, you may know him or not, what is the mentality you must have in a k-1 fight?<B> 3:43: You can finally show what you've trained so hard for

<P> 3:46: But what are your thoughts on the guy on the other side of the ring?<B> 3:48: You have to win<P> 3:49: That sounds very "nicely said" Badr<B> 3:52: This is a "conservative public acces channel" right?(laughs)<p> 3:55: Then say it fit for "commercial television".<B> 3:57: It's not about the opponent, you have to win and...<P> 4:00: Badr c'mon you're saying to yourself this guy has to die right?<B> 4:02: Well, well, yes yes i HAVE to knock him out that's what im thinking.<P> 4:04: Wreck him is what they call it in this sport?<B> 4:06: Demolishing they call it.(both laugh)

<M> 4:11: Friendships don't exist when you fight right?<B> 4:13: Yes they do, yes they do.<M> 4:16: Can you really think i'm going to demolish my friend?<B> 4:19: Yeah, yeah but in a good way, maybe his nose is a little crooked i'll put it back a little to left or something, so you can help him out sometimes.

<P> 4:31: Badr can you see your opponent, thinking I am going to completly demolish this guy, in his eyes.<B> 4:35: Well it's a great moment, the moment you are standing there, i mean footballplayers or speedskaters don't have that staredown,but we do and sometime you see fear in the opponents eyes or the same determination that I have, but if u do good their determination will go down while you are fighting, and if your not doing so great you see the determination growing.<P> 4:58: You are somebody who wants to go for the knockout right? That's your objective when u enter the ring.<B> 5:03: That is also what the people want to see, you can say what u want, but it's the most beautiful way of taking somebody down, that is knockingsomebody down, it might sound a little unhealthy, but that's the way it is.<P> 5:20: You yourself have been knocked out 11 times, you have won a lot i know that, but also got knocked out 11 times don't u sometimes think thisisn't good(healthy) for me?<B> 5:27: I don't think i've been knocked out that many times, but i lost a few times due to knock out, the best thing about getting knocked out is thatyou don't remember anything.(laughs)

<M> 5:37: How long does it take you to recover fully, because from a speed skating race i will take about two days, but how long when u reallyget knocked out?<B> 5:46: It depends, it depends on how hard you got knocked out, you will be fully recovered in a few minutes sometimes it's a matter of seconds, it depends on how hard you got hit.<M> 5:57: I've seen videos of guys like Peter Aerts after a match and they look completely blue and smashed up.<B> 6:01: Yeah but that's a fight i mean the injuries are serious, but the difference between these kind of injuries and let's say in football(soccer) or speedskating will take a lot longer to recover from, we are trained so sustain it, i mean if we tear something it's over for us like for everyone else, but we are used to take a hit.

<P> 6:20: It seems to me that when you are in this sport, you get fired up for a match, you have a very strong body, something of an animal comes out,you want to manhandle someone, you want to win, is that a pleasurable feeling for you? that the beast inside you get loose a little bit?<B> 6:39: Well everyone experiences it in a different way, in my case it is like that, when i am ready and about to fight i feel a beast insideme coming out, then i really want to RARR you know, this primal thing enters my body which sometimes is a great feeling and then when u win yourwalking around the ring with your chest out, but it's the same thing for speedskating when u win a 1500m race you'll skate with your chest out in stead of slouching a bit.<p> 7:08: In 2007 u became a world champion then u really had this great feeling, but let's now take a look at a fight where it didn't go your way,you were fighting Remy Bonjasky and you were doing well but you couldn't stop and you kept fighting when the referee broke up the fight. Let's take alook at the clip.

(Clip Badr stomping on Bonjasky)

<p> 7:55: This doesn't seem right to me Badr.<B> 7:57: No that's a wrong situation (smiles) i don't know who did that, i don't know that guy.<P> 8:07: But seriously, what do you think of this when u see it?<B> 8:10: This is wrong<P> 8:12: You did this again so you sort of have a name of this guy that always keeps kicking when the referee stops the fight, explain, why do you keep fighting?<B> 8:20: The funny thing is i can't explain that, it's not like i train in the gym to do this, it's different for every person, it happens in a momentfor outsiders it's very easy to point the finger and say WHy does he do that? sitting in the stands or watching a fight on tv.<P> 8:42: But can't you cement it in your head, that when a referee steps in you have to stop fighting instantly?<B> 8:50: Yes, that's how it's supposed to be, but when im completely in it, there is so much passion, so much emotion, so much determination, sometimesyou lose youself in those emotions.<P> 9:03: But that's kind of dangerous right? I mean it's a good thing about the sport that it's dangerous that's why so many people watch this but...

<M> 9:08: You are a great fighter and you have the talent to be the very best, maybe you are the very best already, but isn;t that little bit of control allu need to become the best undoubtly?<B> 9:23: Yes 100% procent, i completely agree with that...<M> 9:26: than in some way or another you'll have to train it.<B> 9:29: But that's untrainable, it maybe something i need to talk about with people..

<p> 9:39: Then you've decided to quit the sport for a year, you went to Morocco, you've spent a couple of months there, why did you do this?<B> 9:50: Well after this Bonjasky ordeal i was a little bit to proud to admit i was wrong, i was like it happens, Zidane headbutts someone, Cantonaflying kicks a football fan, people make mistakes, but then it happened a second time i have to say i was a little bit scared of myself, i felt likesomething had to change and i had to find myself back again.<P> 10:18: And did that work?<B> 10:20: Yes yes, i think....<p> 10:23: So you promise that you'll never do this again, you have fight coming up in may....<B> 10:26: No i can't promise that, i COULD SAY i would never do it again, but i can't say it will never happen again, i would be lying to myself.<P> 10:50: You want to be an athlete, you've trained a long time for that, but there are also a few personal things going on in your life, 2006 you wereconvicted because you beat up some neighbours you did some time for that, now there is a ongoing case involving a doorman in Amsterdam where you allegedly beat up somebody, that's still ongoing there isn't much proof in that case, the first case was right since you did some time for it? (Answer: Yes, i did some time and did some community service.) why is it that you're involved in that world? Because you're an athlete you train very hard but u use that todo harm in your personal life, what do you think about that?<B> 11:41: I wouldn't say it's using my strenghts in bad ways, look i made mistakes that's obvious, i mean those were some of those mistakes, i mean a fight with a neighbour yeah you could try discussing something with them but in this case that didn't happen and i feel remoursefull about that, because idid myself short by doing that.<P> Because people now might say that's that guy that gets himself in trouble all the time, shall we take a look at one of your trainers, Tom Harinck i think this is, this is a clip of him telling you what you should be looking out for.

<TOM HARINCK IN THE CLIP> Im noticing you getting more famous, you're starting to become a great fighter, guys are going to be around you, there will besome bad guys in that group as well, i told you this before don't make them influence you, most of the times it's guys with a lot of money that made itin a bad way but that's their problem who are we to judge that, but dont let them influence you or use u. I mean i know everyone in this city and i sometimesi see people i don't feel good about, but i think you're smart enough to realise that. that you don't do the short-term work.

<p> 13:05: Can i say you didn't listen REALLY good to him?<B> 13:07: Oh i don't know, i mean i've been doing this sport since i was seven, and in this sport if acclompished a lot and great things, and that i was involved in a neighbourargument is true, and that there is now the situation at the Leidse Plein (Beaten up Bouncer) is true also.<P> 13:39: And he says those people around u in the sport, he (TOM) says there wrong (bad) people around u in the clip.<b> 13:41: Yes, but u can't talk negativly about the sport because of that, i mean this is a great sport and we would be doing it no favour when we talk about the wrong (bad) people around it. I mean everyone is a supporter of sport in it's own way, i mean i am secretly a supporter of Mark Tuitert(speed skating bozo next to him) i mean i have to admit that even though i am a tough guy i have to say it anyway.

<p> 14:20: So what have we learned today? (isn't as weird in dutch as it sounds in eglish)<b> 14:26: i think we're going to approach it positively again, i am a fighter and there's been a lot of negativity around me, but i want people to see me asan athlete again, because that is who i am.

<P> 14:45: When is the comeback?<b> 14:47: May,<P> 14:48: Versus?<B> 14:50: not sure yet.<P> 14:55: would you rematch Bonjasky?<B> 14:56: Im up for it.